Decorative protective surfaces find many consumer applications. Household appliances, automotive interiors and paints, consumer electronic devices, such as laptops and hand held devices, are all examples where consumers prefer materials that deliver considerable protection from scratches, wear and abrasion while retaining high cosmetics and aesthetics through the material's lifecycle. High quality surfaces, free of cracks and/or other defects, are of particular interest to many consumers because of their aesthetic appeal.
Durable decorative laminates and films comprised of glass beads are broadly known. These low gloss constructions typically consist of exposed glass bead surfaces that impart high durability and decorative properties to the construction. Low friction properties of such constructions have also been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,265 (Ueda) discloses decorative abrasion resistant laminates that contain hard microspheres (glass or plastic) that are either exposed or surface coated with a thin polymer coating. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,775 (LaPerre), which discloses durable, low coefficient of friction polymeric films made by having an exposed glass bead surface with glass. Specifically, thermoformable polyurethane bead films and low coefficient of friction decorative bead films are known in the art, but crack-free low coefficient of friction thermoformed bead films with high abrasion resistance have not been described previously.
There is a need for thermoformable polyurethane bead films that have a low coefficient of friction, high abrasion resistance, and are also crack-free.